[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Following a 15-5 regular season, the Medfield High School varsity girls volleyball team received the No. 4 seed in the Division II Central Sectionals, also earning themselves a first-round bye. On Monday, Medvol hosted No. 5 seed Nashoba Regional for their quarterfinal round contest, and after finding themselves in an early battle, Medfield turned it on in the final two sets to secure a convincing 3-0 victory and advance to the central semifinals.
Medfield fell behind 5-1 to begin the first set, but rallied to take a 7-5 lead. Both Medfield and Nashoba continued to trade blows throughout the set, which saw seven lead changes. With the score tied at 20, senior captain Charlotte Duffy served up an ace followed by a sneaky little misdirection shot by Kayla Anderson to give Medfield a 22-20 lead. Medfield then won three of the next four points, which included two kills by senior captain Jessica Sturchio, and the Warriors pulled out the 25-21 set victory to take a 1-0 lead.
The Warriors clearly gained momentum from their first set victory, as Medfield came out blazing hot in set two, winning 10 of the first 12 points to take a commanding 10-2 lead. An ace by senior Tina Wagenseller extended Medfield’s lead to 11-3 before the Warriors went on a 14-5 run to conclude the set, highlighted by two more aces from Wagenseller and three kills from Sturchio, as the Warriors took a 2-0 overall lead following their 25-8 second-set win.
Medfield kept their foot on the gas at the beginning of set-three, jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead thanks to two consecutive kills from Sturchio. Duffy added a kill after Nashoba finally got on the board, followed by two more from Sturchio, and Medfield extended its lead to 9-2. Medfield continued to feed the ball to their lethal outside hitter in Jessica Sturchio, and the senior captain delivered five more kills throughout the remainder of set, leading to a 25-7 set win and a 3-0 overall victory for the Warriors.
At the time of print, Medfield will welcome TVL rival and No. 9 seed Westwood (11-9) on November 8 with a trip to the Central finals on the line.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0, or read his blog at www.flannylive.wordpress.com.
